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Wow, it’s been 30 days since
surgery. Sometimes it feels like it was
a lifetime ago. Sometimes it feels as
though it was just last week. Time just
passes by without us noticing it.
Today we went to lunch with
some of George’s co-workers. It was a
good chance for him to catch up with people he hasn’t seen in quite some
time. It was a safe way to introduce
George back into the world of eating out.
We went to Olive Garden and their soup/salad/breadstick combination is a
good choice for both of us to eat. We
were there for nearly an hour and a half and he did really well.
This evening we did a longer
walk than usual. I reminded George last
night that 30 days out from his first surgery he could not even walk half that
distance. I know things are different
this time around – the last time he was heavily affected by multiple abscesses
and fluid around the lungs. That makes a
huge difference. But… progress is
progress!
We found out from the
pharmacist today that Dr. M has requested that the PICC line stay in for two
more weeks. I think I know the reason
for this. Tonight is our last dosage of
the IV antibiotic meds (Merren). This
med was to treat one of the two infections that they diagnosed in the
hospital. Dr. M really preferred that we
did not have to use two antibiotics as the Vancomycin works best by itself. For the next week or so we will take only the
Vancomycin. I imagine more labs will be
drawn over the next two weeks in order for him to see if this entire treatment
series has been effective. If it is,
then the PICC line can come out. If it
is not and we have to re-introduce the Merren, then the PICC line is available.
(The Merren is only available in IV form.)
So Dr. M is playing this safe.
We still haven’t heard about a
CT being scheduled. I just hope things
do not happen last minute as I have scheduled things all day on Monday (work
and a massage), and I have scheduled meetings on Tuesday morning. We see Dr. B on Tuesday afternoon and, if we
have not yet heard about a CT scan, he will fast track that and would most likely
have that towards the end of next week.
This week there have been
several issues with George’s mom. His
sister has been dealing with all of that.
On Tuesday she had a seizure.
After a trip to the ER and lots of tests, they determined she did not
have a stroke or an aneurysm. She was
acting “herself” soon after. They did
recommend she be started on anti-seizure medication. Today as we got home we got another call from
Rosemary saying that as she arrived at the facility there was an ambulance and
fire engine and that they were there for mom.
Apparently the staff had difficulty getting her out of her chair and she
was complaining that her back or hip hurt.
They called the nurse who told them to call an ambulance. Rosemary was a bit peeved as this was not an
emergency call. After some back and
forth between the emergency personnel, the staff and Rosemary they determined
that Rosemary would try to take her to the ER. However, it proved difficult for mom to bend
her knees so the ambulance did do the transport. We just spoke with Rosemary and all the labs
are good (again), they see no reason for what was causing the issue
(again). They were awaiting the last test
(an ultrasound I believe). It is looking
as though two ER trips are finding absolutely no justifiable cause for whatever
is going on with mom this week.
Frustrating and puzzling.
As we close out this first
month of our new battle, we are grateful for the physical progress that has
happened thus far. There is still a road
ahead… and we have not even begun to really process and deal with the
underlying issues of the cancer. This
first part of the journey, the surgery recovery, has proven to be exhausting on
many levels. I look forward to being
able to ease up a bit as medications start to go away for the time being. I
think it will be good to catch my breath and try to be able to re-focus on
other things for a bit of time. Catching
up on my sleep will definitely aid that process.
30 days – 4 weeks – 1 month…
behind us.
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